Eleni Diker Msc.

Eleni Diker joined UNU-MERIT as a researcher in November 2018. She has an MSc degree in Public Policy and Human Development with a specialisation in Migration Studies from United Nations University / Maastricht University and a BA degree in Economics from Bogazici University in Turkey. After completing her master's degree, she worked at the UN Migration Agency (IOM) in Istanbul for several years in resettlement, counter-trafficking and assisted voluntary return programs. Before joining UNU-MERIT, she was working as a researcher and project coordinator at Migration Research Center at Koc University (MiReKoc) in Turkey. At MiReKoc, she has been involved in a number of research projects concerning Syrian refugees in Turkey. She coordinated the Forced Migration Resource Center (FMRC) project and initiated side-projects of FMRC with the aim to increase the research capacities of actors in the forced migration field and build bridges between civil society and academia. Her work has included mapping of civil society organizations working towards addressing the needs of refugees in Turkey. Next to her role at UNU-MERIT, she is the co-founder, fund-raiser and project developer at BoMoVu, an NGO dedicated to the social empowerment of underserved groups through sports and body movement.